Leaky Bulkhead

[cdamiano]

I have a bulkhead on my refugium that has a very slow leak. I have tried tightening it numerous times without success and also tried replacing the nut and seal on the inside. I know this probably isn't the best way to tackle this, but I am wondering if it's ok to try and use some silicone around the bulkhead on the outside of the tank????? It's driving me crazy and I can't think of any other way.

I had this drilled and had a few baffles put in by Aqua Hut. I didn't have the tools to drill the tank myself......next time I think I will try and do it myself if this is the quality of service you get from paying someone $100 to drill it and put in a few baffles. It's pretty obvious to me that they didn't water test the seal after drilling it.

 

[rtecanoe]

You can put silicone around the bulkhead on the outside of the tank, but I don't think that will stop the leak for you. What you can do is to take the bulkhead off ( if your system is set up so that you can drain the refugium a little) and put the silicone on the threads of the bulkhead (like you might do with plumbers tape) than tighten the bulkhead. Wait about an hour for it to dry and then you should be in good shape! The threads are often times where the slow leak comes from. Using silicone will allow you to still be able to remove the bulkhead in the future, unlike pvc cement. You can check out www.wetwebmedia.com they highly recommend doing this all the time, and it's a good source for a lot of reefing info. I know the silicone worked for me.

 

[DgenR8]

Before you explore the silicone option, are you sure the bulkhead is installed correctly? The rubber gasket should be inside the tank, and if it's been over tightened, it probably needs to be replaced. Over tightening will "crush" the gasket to the point of making it useless.

 

[cdamiano]

The gasket is on the inside of the tank. I guess I can try another gasket, although I have already tried that. It seems like the hole that was drilled is a bit larger then it should be.

 

[DEXTER SOLIS]

some gaskets have ridges on one side & smoothe on the other, the smoothe side goes against the glass. also check if the wieght on the BH is not soo much that it tilts it a bit.

good luck

 

[DgenR8]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11063433#post11063433 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by DEXTER SOLIS
some gaskets have ridges on one side & smoothe on the other, the smoothe side goes against the glass. also check if the wieght on the BH is not soo much that it tilts it a bit.

good luck

Both good points.

 

[cdamiano]

I was unable to get the gasket off to try and replace it again, so I wound up using silicone around the outside seal and that has solved the problem. Thanks for all of your suggestions.